From the Principal

Dear St Michael’s School families,

PRAYER

Tomorrow we celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; one which has always been a challenge for us to understand when we were children. Today we share with our children that Jesus' love will always be with us and that his love for humanity is constant. He calls us to respond through kindness, compassion and service to others.

Loving Jesus,

Your Sacred Heart reminds us of your endless love for all people.

Help us to be kind, compassionate and forgiving, just as you are.

Teach us to care for those who are lonely, sad or in need, 

and to share your love through our words and actions each day.

Bless our students, families and staff, 

and fill our school community with peace, joy and hope.

May we always trust in your loving heart 

and follow your example of generosity and care.

We make this prayer through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

We wish to thank our community for your generosity again in donating to the Vinnies Winter Appeal this year. As always, we have collected so much to share within our loccal community for those in need. Thank you again to the Wellbeing & Social Justice Student Leaders who have also supported this effort.

STAFFING UPDATE

As many families would already be aware, we will have a few staffing changes in Semester Two (Terms 3 and 4) this year. While changes in staffing can sometimes be unsettling, they can also be a positive opportunity for children to develop resilience, build new relationships and learn from the unique strengths, experiences and perspectives that different teachers bring.

Year One/Two B

Mr Luke Smith, who has been teaching One/Two B will be leaving to return home to Ireland due to unforseen circumstances. His final day at St Michael's will be Friday 19th July. We are sad to see him go but the children have benefitted greatly from Luke's warmth and his caring nature, as have the staff. We wish Luke well as he returns home to family. 

At this time, Mrs Kylie Ashton continues her recovery and maintains contact with the school as to her progress. Her return to work, after the injuries sustained in her accident last year, will be determined by Kylie’s medical practitioners and her capacity to undertake the demands of a classroom role.  We continue to have ongoing dialogue with Kylie, with her physical health and general wellbeing at the forefront of our thoughts. 

With this in mind, Eloise Ellis and I have secured a replacement for the class for Semester Two (Terms Three and Four). Miss Alison Hastings will be teaching One/Two B for the remainder of this year in a full time capacity. Alison completed casual relief work at St Michael’s throughout 2025, having taught all classes for Performing Arts lessons and many classes across all year levels as required. Alison demonstrated strong professionalism and genuine care for students, and we are delighted to welcome her back to take on One/Two B through to the end of the 2026 school year.

Year Three/Four B

It has been a great pleasure to have Mrs Carolyn Wilson at St Michael's School for our first Semester with the Three/Four B class, Mondays-Wednesdays. She has been a wonderfully calm presence for both staff and students and we have all benefitted greatly from her knowledge and experieince. 

Carolyn finishes her time with St Michael’s School at the end of this term, as we see the return of Mrs Deanna Imbriano from parental leave. Deanna will replace Carolyn’s Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Three / Four B, with Mrs Laura Dzanovski continuing on Thursdays and Fridays.

Many families will already know Deanna and the depth of expertise she brings to the classroom. Deanna has been a valued member of the St Michael’s School staff since 2017, with extensive experience in the middle years and a strong command of the curriculum. We are delighted to welcome her back from parental leave. 

Science / STEM Tuesdays

Miss Alannah Morris has taught our Science / STEM specialist classes on Tuesdays throughout Semester One this year. She has greatly enjoyed working with our students and been a  wonderful addition to our staff group. Alannah is also returning to her home in Ireland at the end of the semester and we wish her the very best with her next chapter.

Eloise and I are currently recruiting for a replacement teacher in the Science / STEM classroom.

Performing Arts Specialist classes

We have been blessed so far this year to have the amazing talents and skills of Ms Melanie Ford in our Performing Arts specialist program. Melanie has worked with students using the amazing African Drum set we have onsite; has taught the ukelele to our Year Three to Six students and has conducted our school choir. Unfortunately Melanie is unable to continue into Term Three, however we are looking forward to seeing the drums and choir performances at our final assembly this term on Friday 26th June. 

We wish all these members of staff the very best in their jouneys beyond St Michael's School and thank them for their amazing contributions to our community.

GRANDPARENTS & SPECIAL FRIENDS' DAY

We wish to give you official and advanced notice of our Grandparents Day celebration for this year so that you can prepare your families. This year we will invite Grandparents or Special Friends to celebrate with us on Friday 7th August, from 1pm. For more information about this day please see Ray Hickey's message in our Religious Education 

As we have tried to work around many competing dates in the calendar, this has meants we have needed to make some changes to assembly dates. 

TERM 3 ASSEMBLIES - Date changes - please note these in your home calendars

Weeek 4 - 7th August - Grandparents & Special Friends' Day - NO ASSEMBLY

Week 6 -  21st August - 5/6B Assembly (No Change)

Week 8 - 4th September - 1/2B Assembly (Change from 5/6 Level)

Week 10 - 18th September - School Leaders Assembly (No Change)

At this stage assemblies in Term 4 remain the same.

80TH ANNIVERSARY GALA TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE HERE

A huge thank you and congreatulations to our 80th Anniversary Gala dinner Committee who have worked incredibly hard over the last few weeks to sell tickets (now almost sold out!!!) and gathered sponsorship to help us update our BIGGIE play equipment. We're so looking forward to the 17th October! If you haven't bought your tickets yet, get in NOW.

See more details about what the committee has been up to and who our wonderful sponsors are on our 80th Anniversary Gala Event page. 

EARLY BIRD - Book a table of 10 by 30 June and receive 10% off ($1,620 per table)

ART OF THE WEEK

Thank you to our Year Six Arts Leaders for making the arrangements each fortnight for our Art of the Week competition.

THEME: Cultural Backgrounds

ARTWORK DUE:  TODAY to be presented at assembly TOMORROW

KINDER KIDS

We are looking forward to our next Kinder Kids session, happening NEXT FRIDAY, 19TH JUNE, from 9.00-10.00am. Our Year Five students are eager to meet our young visitors.

PARENTS & FRIENDS ASSOCIATION SURVEY

Earlier this year, many of you completed a survey for our PFA to give us some feedback about how we are going and what we can do better! Check out some of the detailed feedback on our St Michael's PFA News page.

GARDENING THIS WEEK

Thank you Year One/Two B who planted some new silverbeet seedlings in one of the garden trugs last Friday. Silverbeet is great for so many parts of our bodies - our heart, bones, eyes, bowels and also wonderful for our immunity, keeping away those colds and flus. We're looking forward to when they are ready. Start looking up some recipes now!

ANNUAL REPORT TO THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY

Please note that the 2025 Annual Report to the School Community is now available on our website.

ADVANCED PSYCHOLOGY BLOG

St Michael's School has partnered with Advanced Psychology with a psychologist working onsite weekly. This link takes you to a blog with podcasts / webinars that deal with a variety of topics which might be of interest to parents and teachers. 

https://www.advancedpsychology.net/blogs

We acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we learn, play, pray, work and gather. 

We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and we honour the ongoing cultural, spiritual and educational contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.